Conventional user interfaces for use with sailing consist of rows and columns of text and numbers, such as multiple rows of numbers for each of “boat speed vs. target,” “optimal true wind angle,” “time to burn,” and others. Some sailing information systems include rows of six or more relatively large digital displays placed in a bulky grid at the foot of a ship's mast, and the crew is expected to interpret the complex array of numbers accurately and quickly and while attempting to manually pilot the ship. Many tacticians have even more displays showing histories for wind direction, speed, and other sensor information.
All data must be analyzed and assembled mentally, and each crew member builds their own mental map of the sailing route, the ship's situation, and the necessary tactical decisions that must be taken. Only the most skilled crew members are able to digest the numbers presented in this way, which leaves computer aided tactical decision making primarily in the hands of seasoned professionals. Attempts have been made to display some information in graphically by superimposing the data on a map, which is typically always displayed in the conventional “north up” way. However, these displays are still very complex to interpret and leave much of the key information as numbers. Thus, there is a need for an improved methodology to provide accurate and intuitive sailing user interfaces, particularly in the context of monitored mobile structures that are meant to participate in sailing races.